Erin turns 40 & Kara's binky tree

June first marked a momentous occasion for my sister-in-law, Erin. She turned 40. A lesser woman may have been depressed, but not former class partier Erin. Oh no, she celebrated all month long with friends and family. She arranged for Grammy to watch all the kids one Saturday nite while she, my brother Mike, John & I went out to the bowling alley bar. Yep, the bowling alley! Erin's two friends, Lynda and Nancy met us there for drinks and good bar food. Nancy turned out to be the life of the party. She played pool with John, bought shots for all of us (yikes!) and was a competitive participant in beer pong. Fortunately, she wasn't driving. It was a fun time. I haven't stayed up that late in ages!!

Erin & her wine

Mike, Erin, Lynda & Nancy

The beer pong competitor

June first was also the deadline I had set for Kara to give up her binky. She was never a big pacifier kid, but she (and we) did use it to go to sleep. I did some research and found several suggestions for easing the transition: giving it to a new baby, sewing it into a teddy bear, mailing it off the the binky fairy, etc. Kara's pretty smart - I didn't think she was going to fall for any of these. I did take one suggestion and started snipping away at the tip of the pacifier. This eliminated the suction. Supposively this was going to make the pacifier less appealing. Kara promptly informed me that her binky "was broken" yet she continued to suck away. Alas, the bandaid was going to have to be ripped off swiftly. I had also read somewhere that some kids "plant" their binkies. Aha! John & I wanted a new decorative tree for our backyard, so off we went to Manza farm to select a tree. We came home with a beautiful Kousa Dogwood tree that we told Kara was HER tree. We explained that we would have to plant her binkies for the tree to grow. She was totally on board. She dutifully collected her broken binkies and threw them into the hole. Unbelievable. Then John put the tree on top of them and all hell broke loose. She wailed for a good couple of minutes before I was able to distract her, but then was fine. Now we have a beautiful binky tree in our backyard that's all Kara's!

John & Molly checking out the selection

Kara throwing the binkies in the hole

Kara's binky tree

North Carolina Part 2

So far I have failed to mention that one of our vacationers was our golden retriever, Molly. Part of what made the Kolman's so appealing was the opportunity to bring Molly with us. We hate leaving our pathetic dog behind! I have to say, she was the best traveler on the way down. Molly loves swimming and being able to bring her to the beach was great. At first Molly had a tough time adjusting to going potty at the beach house. Then one day on the beach Molly found her inspiration, squatted and pooped. Hurray! Has anyone else ever tried pooper scooping on the beach with a shell and driftwood? Yeah, I'm not only Kara's mommy, I'm Molly's mommy, too. From that day on, Molly would only poop on the beach. Great.

One of the things we were most excited about on this particular vacation was a planned trip to the Fort Fisher Aquarium. Thursday morning we set out to take the ferry over to Fort Fisher. The ferry ride itself was worth the trip. The ferry leaves from Southport, down the road from Oak Island, and travels to Fort Fisher in about 30 minutes. You can bring your car, motocycle or just yourself on this ferry. We took the car. It was the first time I've driven onto a ferry and it was pretty cool. In the four years I lived on Staten Island, the ferry never allowed cars, not that I would've driven anyway. FYI: the Staten Island Ferry now allows cars again - it must've just been while I lived there! Anyway, after arriving in Fort Fisher it was a very short drive to the aquarium. John & I were prepared for it to be pretty lame, in all honesty, and once inside we were afraid our fears were realized. It seemed like the aquarium consisted of one large room with local water life. It was enough for Kara just to see some ducks, large boring fish and alligators, but John & I were like - really, that's it? Silly us, that was just the vestibule. Once inside the "real" aquarium, we were not disappointed. There was a display where kids could touch lobsters, crabs and starfish. Adjacent to that was a loggerhead turtle born on the island. Further in was an awesome two story tank with all types of fish, eels and even sharks. On the lower level we found a stingray pool, octopi, and yes... Nemo! Kara had a blast as did John & I. We returned to the ferry with one stuffed Nemo, one stuffed turtle, three official aquarium photos and one pooped two year old. A side note: the weather had finally improved by Thursday.

The view from the ferry

The vestibule of the aquarium

Starfish in the 'touch' tank

The two story fish tank

A yellow seahorse

John & Kara with a horseshoe crab

The rays

We found Nemo!!!

Friday the weather was much nicer finally, at least at the house. We went down to the beach only to be pelted with sand. It was SO windy at the beach, we gave up and returned home. We decided to sit in the backyard around the Kolman's fountain. It was actually fun in a redneck kind of way! That night we went out to dinner at a great Mexican restaurant Brian & Toni introduced us to the last time we were in town. Unfortunately, it being Friday, margaritas were full price :( Oh well!



We took a different approach to the beach Saturday. After spending all week in sweatshirts and jeans on the beach anyway, we decided to go to the beach early and dress warmly. It was great. We walked the entire beach and found the inlet to the canal. The water was calm and deep - perfect for our dog to swim in! Molly was in heaven. After the long walk it was time for lunch. Home we went. We spent another afternoon lounging in the backyard hillbilly style. It was then, after a few beers, we decided to delay our departure originally scheduled for Sunday evening to Monday afternoon.

The kids on the beach

Molly swimming and fishing

A redneck afternoon




Sunday was basically a repeat of Saturday. That morning on the beach, John tried to make Kara a grand sandcastle. I have to give him kudos for effort! Every time he would get a good amount built, Kara would smash the castle. It was pretty funny to watch. I need to take a moment to mention that according to Brian & Toni, their beach has an endless supply of incredible shells. Part of our decision to get to the beach early was to try to find some of these shells. I don't know if we suck at finding shells or if Brian & Toni are extremely persistant seekers, but we struck out big time!

Building sandcastles

Burying Molly in the sand

Sadly, as hard as we tried, Monday came. It was time to pack up and say goodbye - for now. It was a wonderful vacation that we packed a lot into. Mostly it was great to get away from our house for awhile. And the best part of all was being able to bring our dog with us! A big thank you to Brian & Toni. I hope we were good guests!

North Carolina Part 1

Once again this year, our family traveled to coastal North Carolina for spring break vacation. Usually we rent a beautiful beach front house in Topsail Island, but times being financially tough, we opted to utilize Brian & Toni's Oak Island house. This year was also the first year that we drove straight through without an overnite hotel stay (remember: financially tough times!!) To make the trip as painless as possible for the drivers, we left at Kara's bedtime and drove through the nite. I took the first shift from 6 pm to midnight. John had the tougher shift, midnight untill our destination. We arrived Easter morning at about 6:30 am, just a little too late for the sunrise Easter mass. It was a little rough that first morning, but we made it with a few naps and lots of coffee. After grocery shopping and naps we hit the beach. It was sunny, but windy and chilly. The weather only got worse the next few days.

Day 1: The girls on Oak Island's beach

After checking in with The Weather Channel we decided to head up to Topsail to visit the Kolmans, mom & Uncle George. They drove down the Thursday prior to Easter and ended up in a mansion on the beach after their original house had electrical issues. I wish I had taken more pictures of their house - it was amazing! Kara particularly liked the glass elevator which had murals of ocean life including fish, turtles and a mermaid. I liked the bar!! It had an elevated gas fireplace and his & her bathrooms. Too bad it didn't come with a bartender & stocked bar! John played dealer while we all played blackjack. I did very well, too bas it wasn't for real money! As mentioned, the weather was terrible - cold & drizzly. We forced ourselves outside in sweatshirts and jeans just to say we were outside. Nick & John played basketball, Kara followed Mike & Nick around and Erin & I drank wine under the cover of a gazebo. Erin & Mike treated us to grilled burgers, hotdogs & chicken. After dinner and once Kara was contently sleeping, Mike, Erin, Mackenzie & I hit the hot tub. This hot tub had a cool LCD light that periodically changed color. It was very cool. The next morning we had a casual breakfast then went for a walk on the cold rainy beach. Kara enjoyed dumping sand on Mackenzie's head! Mack's a good sport, but needed a shower. We packed up and reluctantly left the Topsail mansion.

Day 2: Silly Mike

John, the dealer

The mansion's backyard

John & Nick shooting hoops

Drinking buddies under the gazebo

Kara & her Nick

Kara & her Mack

Pink & orange twins

Naked Kara & crazy George

Wednesday the Topsail crew came down to Oak Island. It was their first time visiting Oak Island and Brian & Toni's house. John & I felt like realtors showing everyone around a house that didn't belong to us! Once again we sweatshirted up and forced ourselves outside into the chilly weather. After lunch & Kara's nap we hit the Oak Island beach for some shell seeking. Mike of course found a shark's tooth which is common in Topsail, but not in Oak Island. Following the beach, the Topsailers returned to their beach house and we went out to a nice dinner at a a place called The Dead Pub right on the intercoastal waterway. Kara ate an entire plate of shrimp! Of course she called it chicken and we didn't correct her. Then we headed home for the second half of our week...

Day 3: Drinking buddies on the beach

A walk on the Oak Island beach

Family dinner

Kara turns 2

Kara celebrated her second birthday on March 7th. This year we kept it low key as opposed to last year's beach party. The theme of her party was again beach related, however. Kara is in love with the ocean and all its critters! John and I have discussed this and we can't decide if she developed this love on her own or if we've brainwashed her. Her crib bedding, that we picked out before she was born, is "Under the Sea". It has fish, whales, turtles, etc. and her room is also filled with these creatures. Kara also loves "Finding Nemo". Again, coincidence or brainwashing? Hmmm...

Anyway, Kara had a wonderful time with all her 'friends'. She's always excited to see her cousins to the point where I get sick of hearing their names (no offense Nick & Mack & Tina). She even enjoyed some pizza & of course chocolate cake. I need to backtrack here. Kara watches "Little Bear" on Noggin just about every day. Well, that little bear LOVES chocolate cake and his mother bear is constantly making chocolate cake. Now Kara asks for chocolate cake every time she watches Little Bear! She must think that everybody eats chocolate cake and cookies every day. Thanks Little Bear!! So Kara needed a chocolate cake for her birthday. I found a great cake that could be decorated like the ocean, complete with sharks, fish and seaweed. It was a lot of fun to make, but it was more fun to see her expression when I unveiled the cake at her party!

THE OCEAN CAKE

Kara opened her gifts with some help from her bigger cousins. She immediately wanted the art easel out of the box and put together. Yeah - right!! (I did it the next day) She was instantly entranced by the fishtank TV and now plays every day with her princess carriage and horse. In fact she asks me to play castle with her all the time. She had a wonderful birthday! We send our thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes.

THE PIZZA PARTY

GIFTS, GIFTS & MORE GIFTS

THE BIRTHDAY WISH

FOUR COUSINS

THE GIRLS

Holidays 2008

It's been awhile since our last post, sorry! This time of year we hibernate and do very few activities. Fortunately, the holiday season came along to give us something to write about. This year was the first year we hosted Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's not about buying presents for people you may or may not even like. I mean do I really need to give the mailgirl a gift?? Whatever. Anyway, Thanksgiving is about eating, drinking & watching football while laying around all day. I love it! What an American holiday. It went well, although I have no proof. I think in the hustle and bustle of preparations and hosting resposibilities, John & I forgot to take pictures. Take my word for it - it was great.

Christmas was split between my sister-in-law and me. Christmas eve was at her house, Christmas at mine. Kara was most excited to spend time with all 3 of her cousins. This was the first year that all of the cousins were together on Christmas Eve. She loved her Elmo day bed which we are not allowed to fold up into the chair it could be. Christmas day, as usual, was pretty mellow. Three i-pod touch zombies joined us for the day. Mike, Nick & Mackenzie all got i-pod touches for Christmas. All three of them showed up at my house with their touches in tow. The three of them spent the afternoon with their heads bowed into those i-pods! More addicting than cocaine, apparently. Kara loved each and every one of her one hundred gifts - just kidding, it only seemed like a hundred! Well, she loved them each for at least 3 minutes before moving on to the next one! I can say that now almost 2 weeks later she still loves her Elmo bed, her Little People playsets, stroller & gingerbread book & men.

Kara & her three cousins, Nick, Mackenzie and Christina

The classic gift, a rocking horse

Kara LOVES cars

She's also an aspiring musician

Dad & Kara enjoying the Elmo daybed

Are you coming to my tea party?

Two of the three i-pod zombies

The 'too-cool' boys on Christmas day

It was a simpler Christmas for us this year, but fabulous nonetheless. Thanks to all for a wonderful season.


New Year's Eve John & I along with Erin & Mike (sister-in-law & brother) went to a wonderful dinner at Limoncello's in Goshen. What a nice treat. The food was great & we all loved the new bar area. A great way to ring in 2009. Let's hope this year brings health, wealth and happiness.

Halloween

This year marked Kara's second Halloween. Last year she was an angel (of course!) This year I wanted to make her a little devil (appropriate) but I couldn't find a costume I liked. A coworker of mine suggested making a cow costume out of a sweatsuit and black felt. Genius! Kara loves cows! And the best part, once Halloween was over, I could peel the black felt off and have a new outfit for her. Off to Old Navy I went. I found an adorable velour sweatsuit there and then headed to Michael's for felt. Again success! For once, it was easy. Then I got to make the costume. I have to say it was fun! The hardest part was putting the ears on her hood, I had to sew them (I don't sew). I'm not sure they even look like cow ears, but I did my best.

Our little cow

In Uncle George & Aunt MaryEllen's Kitchen

Running through the grass at Grammy's

Before anyone can celebrate Halloween, there has to be the carving of the pumpkins. Boy was that the most unfun thing I did this season! My pumpkin was like a rock. It took me over an hour to carve your basic jack-o-lantern face. But John had an easier time and he even let Kara help. She, by the way, colored her very own pumpkin with markers.

John & his Helper

Kara, Dad & the Jack-o-lanterns